The only Samsung phone never accused of copying Apple just beat iPhones in a massive study

Look… there is no question that Apple’s iPhone and iPad lines have heavily influenced Samsung’s smartphones and tablets. Forget the hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties Samsung has been ordered to pay for copying Apple devices, and forget the existence of hard evidence like this 132-page internal Samsung document that served as a manual for copying the iPhone pixel by pixel. Just use your eyes.

Over the years though, there is one Samsung smartphone series that has led instead of followed. And as it turns out, the latest version of that groundbreaking smartphone has just topped Apple’s latest iPhones in one of the largest and most respected consumer satisfaction studies in the world.

Samsung’s new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge are two of the best phones Samsung has ever created, but there’s no denying the similarities between the S6 and the iPhone 6. No, it’s not a blatant copy like Apple bloggers have claimed, but there are indeed unmistakable similarities that continue an ongoing trend in Samsung smartphones.

One phone, however, can certainly not be called an iPhone copy.

Samsung’s original Galaxy Note wasn’t the first smartphone to feature a massive display, but it can absolutely be credited with popularizing the phablet category. Apple had nothing like the Galaxy Note at the time, and it sent the rest of the smartphone industry rushing to increase the sizes of their phones.

The Galaxy Note 4 is the latest version of the company’s Note phablet, and there is absolutely no question that it’s the best. In our Galaxy Note 4 review, in fact, we even said it was a better phablet than Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus — which, by the way, is likely the first iPhone that copies Samsung handsets.

Clearly, we’re not the only ones who think the Note 4 is a great phone.

In the latest American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ASCI), Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 found itself at the very top of the pile among smartphones in the United States. The phablet scored an 86 on the index, handily topping the 82 managed by Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

ASCI rankings are based on based on 14,176 customer surveys conducted in the first quarter this year.

Of course, the Note 4’s ASCI win doesn’t necessary translate when it comes to sales. While the Note 4 is believed to be Samsung’s best-selling phablet, the iPhone 6 Plus is widely accepted as the top-selling phablet that has ever been released.

“Despite its high-scoring phones, Samsung may find it difficult to chip into Apple’s market share because of the need to overcome the brand appeal that is Apple’s mainstay,” ACSI Director David VanAmburg said. “Samsung gained an initial advantage as the first manufacturer to introduce large screens for smartphones, but with the launch of large-screen phones by Apple, its loyal customers have little reason to look elsewhere.”